tonight. may not. it has been the election so far, interesting taped moments. for sure. >> the could. but i think mitt romney in the past has distanced himself away from anything that had to deal with jeremiah wright and connection with obama and his camp said i don't see this as news worthy and had absolutely nothing to do with it. kind of be surprised if they would go there. >> in the news cycle until 9:00 tonight when the debate gets rolling. voters in pennsylvania will not have to show a photo id before casting their presidential ballot next month. a judge has put a temporary hold on the state's new law. abc's t.j. winick explains. >> reporter: 93-year-old vivian applewhite cast her first vote for president back in 1932 for franklin roosevelt. but because she didn't have the required documents to obtain a photo i.d. she almost didn't have a chance to vote this november. it turns out applewhite will be able to vote after a judge blocked pennsylvania's controversial new voter i.d. law from taking full effect before

the presidential election. >> at the end of the day this is a victory for democrats because they can argue that no longer would the kind of voters that they want to bring to the polls are encouraged to go to the polls will be turned away. at the same time, for republicans, winning pennsylvania was always a stretch. >> reporter: under the ruling voters can still be asked for identification but can't be discouraged from voting or disenfranchised if they dent have the proper i.d. >> they can go ahead and vote anyway. but the safe bet is to have i.d. and speed the whole process. >> reporter: supporters of voter i.d.s say the laws weren't passed to exclude voters just to protect against voepter fraud. critics say the real issue is voter suppression, not voter fraud, pointing out nearly every state legislature that passed tougher voter i.d. laws is controlled by republicans. >> this is a victory today for

the people and a loss for the scheming and lying legislators in harrisburg who thought they could hijack the presidential election. >> reporter: the judge's ruling will allow the law to go into full effect next year in pennsylvania and could issue a permanent injunction as a challenge to the law's constitutionality. rob, paula. >> woo have seen the issue in texas, south carolina, wisconsin, all had their issues here. in pennsylvania this law had it gone into effect would have impacted 89,000 voters, 1%. on the news, similar front, in mississippi, yesterday, the state attorney general said their voter i.d. law will not go into effect as well for this election cycle. >> still majority of americans regardless what side of the aisle you are on support voter i.d. laws. georgia, a couple years, when they implemented voting went up. more people voted. >> timing of things. mostly in pennsylvania, republican leader of the state house, get up on video and say, if we do this voter i.d. law it

will allow mitt romney win the state. a political undercurrent left a bad taste in folks' mouths. there is more than democracy playing out. i think some folks were wary of. >> if they don't have the i.d. they have to have a social security card or birth certificate. some don't have that. more legal drama in the jerry sandusky sex scandal at penn state. a former graduate assistant says he saw sandusky molesting a boy in the showers filed suit. mike mcqueary is seeking millions in damages he says he was defamed and misrepresented. >> a halloween costume created such a scare that the bomb squad had to be called in. a driver weang a gas mask and camouflage jacket with an attached grenade was pulled over in san mateo, california. but, the man was not a terrorism. he actually works at a star that sells halloween costumes and is reared to wear his costume for work. now police confiscated his dummy grenade and cleared a half

block. >> i knew it was going to attract people's attention, but i didn't thing they were going to go as far as to be worried and call 911. >> now his manager says he used poor judgment by driving to work wearing that costume here. he is duen court next month for possessing a fake grenade. so, interesting times. at lest people are keeping their eyes open and paying attention to their surroundings. that's good. >> uh-huh. the u.s. birth rate is down again. government analysts blame it on a very weak economy. a new report just out this morning shows that the number of births fell 1% last year. the fourth annual decline in a row. fewer than 4 million babies were born last year. the lowest since 1998. analysts say the trend is reversing because the economy is improving. on that note, i think i am ready for another. >> really? talking about this. you got two. are you ready? >> some of my friend have had babies.

you see a little baby. >> and they smell good. >> they grow up they're 3 and 5 and drive mommy and daddy crazy. they're good. >> a look at your wednesday weather, everybody. thick morning fog in boston, new york, d.c. thunderstorms in the carolinas southward. gusty wind from seattle to minneapolis. up to a foot of snow in montana mountai mountains. >> 80s in colorado springs. albuquerque, across the south. mostly 70s in the north east as well as the midwest. here is a truly great story all about a guy named adam greenberg. on a one game contract with the florida marlins last night for their game against the mets. >> his first game in the big leagues since 2005 when he was hit in a head by the first pitch he ever sawen the majors. he suffered severe headaches, other problems and never returned to a may jr. league club. >> until last night. he faced a knuckleballer, dickey, replace before playing the field. even so he called his brief

return magical. i can just imagine the psychological moment for him to step back on the field and step into the batter's box for the first time after taking -- >> can you imagine. first time out of the gate get beamed lake that. he kale bacame back out. that's all that counts. very cool. one of the people the pope trusted the most answers to some very serious accusations. >> getting paid by doctors to peg o pig out on fast food. relish this thought and head to the drive-through. you are watching "world news now." ♪ just a cheeseburger in paradise ♪ >> announcer: "world news now" with brought to you by tide. ♪ little baby triplets... nd the cute well wait until your triplets move back home after college. we were enjoying our empty nest. and now it's just a nest full of laundry. lucky underwear. we were going through so much of that bargain detergent... and the clothes didn't look as good. but since we switched to tide, we use much less. their clothes are looking much more...uh... what's the word? clean?

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paolo gabriele. welcome back, everybody. a dramatic day in rome at the trial of the pope's former butler. he did take the stand and admitted he took thousand of documents from the pope's private apartment and leaked them to the media. >> with that admission he said he is innocent because he did it for the good of the church. here's abc's jeffrey kaufmann. >> reporter: the pope's butler confess heed stole the documents from his boss and leaked them to the media to expose evil and corruption in the church. paolo gabriele is in court here facing vatican justice and we are getting a rare glimpse inside a world that feeds on secrecy. >> gabriele seemed calm, serious, a bit tense at times. >> reporter: no one was closer to the pope, wake him in the morning bringing him his meals. when investigators raided gabriele's apartment their

carried 82 boxes of evidence including stolen documents. gabriele is accused of being the source of damni ining leaks as as best selling books that portray the vatican as a sea of corruption and cronyism, construction contracts given to friends, people buying audiences with the pope for $13,000. >> it's become painfully clear that he does not have his hand on the rudder. i mean he is looks very much look a weak pope. >> reporter: the pope returned to the vatican after three months at his summer residence outside rome. at 85 he is note isably in decline, a portrait of a leader blind to the intrigue and infighting all around him. as for gabriele, a 46-year-old father of three who lives at the vatican, he has said he leaked the documents out of loyalty to the pope inspired by the holy spirit. no one here believes the butler

really did it on his own. now these proceedings are meant to last only a couple of days. gabriele could face four years in prison. but he has already asked the pope for a pardon. and we're told that is a very likely outcome here. jeffrey kaufmann, abc news, at the vatican. >> fascinating story. the butler did it. that's crazy. >> if he asked for the pardon, you wonder if he will get forgiveness or not. >> you have to wonder. a shame, their trusted aide takes private documents out of your private apartment. all that. fascinating, gives you've a look inside the vatican, the church, folks otherwise would not have seen. looks like it may be vulnerable to some of the same issues and problems and fallible humans other organizations are. interesting read. >> corruption, cronyism, back door payments in return for favors. sound lickke a novel. >> still to come, cheeseburgers, fries, milk shakes in the name of science. >> why people are loading up on the fast food and getting paid

amazing money to do it. it is all coming up.

♪ cheeseburger in paradise ♪ heaven on earth ♪ >> the next story either seems like a dream come true or a disaster waiting to happen. eating fast food, every day, and getting paid thousands to do it. >> big money here. all a new experiment conducted by doctors to measure exactly what fast food diets can do to you. abc's john donvan has the story. >> reporter: hitting the fast food drive-in for science. >> can i get five soft tacos. two sausage burritos. >> reporter: over and over and over again. it has been dave's life the past three months or so as has been eating the food. a precisely measured, 1,000 calories a day, extra meal

daily, fast food only. >> how many calories? >> 770. >> reporter: why? this man is paying them to. dr. samuel klein a researcher at washington medical school in st. louis trying to understand why weight gain ladies to diseases like diabetes and hypertension and how that relates to fat in the liver and muscles. at some point, research on rats alone just is not enough. somebody has to eat the food? >> it has to come to people. >> announcer: attention overweight volunteers. >> reporter: a radio ad offered a cash incentive up to $3,500 depending how long it would take. >> once i got to work i called right away. >> reporter: so did this nurse, dawn freeman. >> it took a month. >> reporter: to get approved? >> to get approved. >> reporter: so they ate every day from one of five restaurants until their weight went up a target, 5%, 6%. dawn in eight weeks went from 170 to 186. doesn't look like a lot. here is how it felt.

>> for two weeks it was all right. then i started feeling awful. i couldn't hardly breathe anymore. >> reporter: same thing for dave. he learned weight is mysterious. doesn't go up in a straight line at all. he actually lost one week. it took him three months to put on 18 pound. and near the end. you just want this thing to be over? >> yeah, i am done with it now. done with it. >> reporter: down the road this research may help find therapies for obesity related diseases. way before that dave will have to take the weight off. that's what he need to come let to get his last $50. john donvan, abc news, saint louis. >> wow. all this may remind you of "super size me" a documentary, ate mcdonald's for 30 days, three times a day, ended up gaining almost 25 pound as a result. >> you are a big fan of fast food and, making the french fries, making the bacon. >> there i am. see the overnight shift does not make end meet. my second job. cook up mcmuffins when i leave

here. come see me. >> i need a double right now. french fries, diet coke. >> give me 1 chicken nuggets and a diet coke. >> okay. >> the morning "the mix" is coming up next. don't go far, we have the best alarm clock. >> uh-huh. it's time to change the way we clean.

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welcome back, everybody. time for "the mix." i wanted to show you all, this device light here. this is actually an alarm clock. i set tight try to go off at the right moment. it is live tv. it will not work. this thing is called clocky. it is not new. what it does here, goes off makes a typical alarm clock sound here. but the trek ick actually its t when you hit snooze, all guilty of, stay in bed an extra half-hour. the two wheels roll off the table. goes around the room, working around the edges of your bed stand and night table, force you to get out of the bed go shut it

off and get up. instead of sitting in bed, what we do, snoozing, snoozing. it may not go off. don't be alarpd alarmed. very cool. i used this in new orleans. any second. you will know when it goes off. >> a sleep theme here, right? >> yes. >> get closer, i think my mike is off. recent studies. [ alarm sound ] #. >> that is annoying as you know what. i think if you hit snooze, the thing rolls off. i know it won't do it on the air. that was anti-climatic. it would roll off the table. roll on your floor. whack y wake you up. >> my meek is off. >> there is a new study. >> hey you come here often. >> hey. >> hey how you doing? >> act hours eight hours uninte false. natural state is to have

segmented period of sleep. two chunks. they're saying, really, the main culprit of this is invention of the light bulb. back in the day, they used to go to bed after the sun went down, weak up f weak up for an hour, do whatever. go become to sleep. >> act houeight hours, don't str that. not going to happen. >> to sleep in chung ks. >> speaking of getting a good sleep. >> need a little cuddle. story out of japan. a sleep shop. cuddle shop. >> oh, look. look. clocky. it's going. look. look. going to test our director. see if he can get it. look at this thing. it's awful. but imagine that thing going around your bedroom. >> it's dark. >> it's dark. stumbling. i swear to you i use this thing, the morning show in new orleans. and that's what -- that is the alarm clock, folks.

>> oh, my word. >> the most annoying sound ever. >> oh, my word. >> the most annoying sound ever. see,hi, i'm jon secada. yake yop

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this morning on "world news now" -- round one. the presidential candidates are hours away from their first face-to-face debate. >> while they were doing last-minute preparations, the vice presidential candidates were trading barbs. it's wednesday, october 3rd. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." good morning, everybody. i'm rob nelson. >> i'm paula faris. on this wednesday. right? >> yeah, wednesday. i think so. >> i even have to think what year it is. what month. >> it's hump day. >> i do think i know my name. >> check. we are good. halfway there. >> i'm paula faris. we'll have a debate preview from

denver in a moment. also this have hour, a key ruling in one of the most controversial issues this election season -- those laws requiring voters to show some form of identification. >> big ruling in pennsylvania. also cutting through the confusion in the huge food recall that started with peanut butter. we have answers about what is safe and what could be contaminated with salmonella. >> i was hesitant to eat peanut butter yesterday. >> smart. 100 product. a full list coming up. also more of our extreme eats series. this time rob gets his turn. he is digging into some of the best -- meatballs. at the big apple has to offer. pickles yesterday. and meatballs today. >> we do it -- >> whole package. >> we do the whole package here on the overnights. good stuff, let me tell you the we have food we'll bring out on

the set and everything. ready to eat well today. those are some good meatballs. >> can't wait to sink my teeth into them. >> that's what i like about you, faris. the high-stakes drama tonight in denver. >> president obama and mitt romney facing off in the first of three debates. abc's karen travers is in denver with a preview. >> reporter: with president obama and mitt romney doing final debate preps, their runningmates hit the campaign trail. vice president biden was speaking about romney's economic plans when he said this -- >> how they can justify raising taxes on the middle-class that has been buried the last four years. >> reporter: republicans called it a stunning admission that the middle-class has been hurt by the obama administration's policies. congressman paul ryan pounced. >> of course the middle-class has been buried, buried by regulations, buried by taxes, buried by borrowing, they're being buried by the obama

administration's economic failures. >> biden later tried to dig himself out. >> the middle class was buried by the policies of romney and the ryan supported. >> reporter: except for debate prep, a politics-free day for contenders. romney had lunch at chipotle. president obama paid a visit to the hoover dam. both have spent hours in debate sessions and both have challenges. aide say the president is working on keeping his answers short to not sound like professor obama. in order to win over undecided voters, romney needs to appear relatable and offer specifics on his agenda. >> he has to find something more than just discussing how bad the economy is or blaming the president for how much the economy continues to struggle. >> reporter: all the prep works come done to just 90 minutes. both candidates, one stage in a high-stakes showdown. karen travers, abc news, denver.

the president's campaign is dealing with an october surprise so to speak this morning after video of an old speech resurfaced. at issue, previously unreported remarks made by then-senator obama to a largely african-american audience back in 2007. now obama suggested the federal government overlooked new orleans residents suffering in the whack ake of hurricane katrs opposed to disasters victims in other parts, such as -- praised jeremiah right, calling him a friend and leader. the obama campaign says the video's release is an attempt by romney supporters to shift the focus away from romney's 47% secret videotape. romney's campaign said they had no involvement in the release. they even go so far as to say, what's the news? i don't know. that's straight from romney's communications director. >> right. you have to wonder, will this be an issue in tonight's debate.

the jeremiah wright was a racially tinged scandal, led the president to give the speech in philadelphia, widely hailed, race is a comb mrx issue in the country always has been. we have yet to perfect and come to terms with yet. here we are again. we'll see if this has -- an impact. whose base it may rile up or not rile up. >> yeah, a lot of people are questioning whether or not it is news. this was a covered speech. but according to some even within the abc family, they said at the time, the campaign only put out prepared remarks in a prepared newspaper, posted a nine-minute edited version. abc and networks, was based on prepared remarks, not really what was said at the podium. definitely aster that i'm sure many outlets will be following. >> going to get some attention for sure. a lot going on in politics. that brings us to our facebook question of the day today. >> yep. we want to know what are you hoping to hear from the candidates in to night's debate. log on to our facebook page,

wnnfans.com. make sure you weigh in. got to hear your voice. >> be sure to tunen to abc news to night for the big debate in denver. our coverage and analysis begins at 9:00 eastern. anchored of course as always by diane saer and george stephanopoulos. voters in pennsylvania will not have to show their photo identification this election day. a judge has delayed implementation of a tough new law because he was worried it might keep people away from the polls. civil rights groups applauded the judge's decision. >> this is a victory today for the people and a loss for the scheming and lying legislators in harrisberg who thought they could hijack the presidential election. the judge could still decide the law can go forward after the presidential election. in other news this morning, american airlines and its pilots' us union back at the bargaining table this week after agreeing to reopen contract talks. pilots rejected american's last offer in august. now they will seek an industry

standard contract. meanwhile, american says improperly installed clamps, caused rows of seats to come loose on three flights in the last week. the airline is inspecting its planes for similar problems. two scenes of economic recovery this morning including a streak in new car sales. the car of sales and trucks, it rose 13% in the last month compared to a year ago. the last time sales figures were this good february of 2008. small, e ficars are fueling the sales trend. home prices are up 4.5% nationwide in august compared to a year ago. the biggest jump in more than six years. analysts say the steady increase in prices over the summer months shows the real estate market is rebou rebounding. doesn't make me feel good the i sold my house a year ago. we took a huge loss. so man if we would have rented a year. >> patience. patience. >> it is okay. yeah, right. an extraordinary close encounter you have to see to believe. that right there is a 25-foot

whale shark, getting up close and personal, with some fishermen off the coast of florida. >> what is it called, a whale shark? >> a whale shark. >> they say the massive animal hung around their boat for an hour. at some points it was so close that some of them actually reached into the water and touched it. >> better you than i. as you might expect from its name, whale sharks are the largest species of sharks on the planet. of course, do something look this, very much at your own risk. >> ooh, that big, and they feed on microscopic plants and animals. they do not eat humans. >> that is reassuring. no wonder he was putting his hand in there the good we like those sharks. coming up next -- why would anyone in their right mind go swimming with tigers? >> teeingers cigers can swim? >> the confusion over a peanut butter recall that involves foods other than peanut butter. and later. everybody, don't change the channel. we are going to come back right

here, "extreme elats" week on "world news now," will continue, and one word, meatballs. cool restaurant in new york city dedicated to the art of meatballs. you don't want to miss this. we are in the kitchen. don't go far. ♪ on top of spaghetti all covered with cheese ♪ ♪ i lost my poor meatball when somebody sneezed ♪ >> announcer: abc's "world news now" weather brought to you by swiffer duster. i'm gonna read one of these! [ female announcer ] unlike sprays and dust rags, swiffer 360 duster's extender gets into hard-to-reach places without the hassle. so you can get unbelievable dust pickup in less time without missing a thing. i love that book. can you believe the twin did it? ♪ swiffer. great clean in less time. or your money back.

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♪ ♪ welcome back, everybody. by now you probably heard of the massive peanut butter recall more than 100 products are being pulled from store shelves. >> but there are so many brand it actually can get pretty confusing. abc's steve osunsami sorts it out. >> reporter: government officials trying to contain the salmonella outbreak doesn't look good. so far, 30 people sick, most of them children, across 19 states. for families searching through kitchen cabinets for dangerous jars of nut butter it is tear blae confusing. first what jars and brand are being recalled? well it isn't your larger name brand like jiff or skippy.

all the brand are linked to sunland peanut corporation in new mexico they make peanut butter, sunland, trader joe's, harry and david and sprouts and the brand at target. >> all the illnesses investigated are related to peanut butter products from the plant. >> reporter: the company says to look on the side of the jar if the best if used by date, between may 1 and september 24, 2013. throw it away. what yoifr family has -- what if your family has gone through half of the car, what are the signs? >> high fever, stomach cramps, dysentery which can show up in one to three days. we spoke to families of children who got sick, they tell us stories of 103 degree fevers that may have last ford days. they were shocked to realize it may have started with their peanut butter. >> go to our website, abc news,.com, to get more

information on particular brand. i have trader joe's in my cabinet. it's not the valencia peanut butter. still hesitant to eat it. it's not that particular style of peanut butter. >> some times you find out into it, include this brand, this brand. better, chuck it. wait till it subside and go back to the nut butter. >> i am actually going to go buy jif and skippy. >> the good stuff. >> sugar in it. not as good for you. >> treat yourself. take it up a level. get high class. >> i'm get you some nut butter. still to come, our "extreme eats" series continues. >> i'll visit the meatball shop, ironically enough, in new york city to find out what it takes to make some really great balls. you are watching "world news now".

♪ on top of spaghetti all covered with cheese ♪ ♪ i lost my poor meatball >> the best part of spaghetti and meatballs is the balls. >> that's right. that can be why a new minichan of restaurants right here in new york is so popular and very, very good. as part of this week's series "extreme eats" i visited the meatball shop, a place that has taken meatballs to a whole new level. so it is fair to say you and dan are pretty passionate about your balls? >> yes, our balls are

actually -- our number one passion. dan and i grew up in new york sit city together. as far as i am concerned it fills every food desire. you can do anything you want with a meatball. any dish you can imagine you can make into a meatball. everybody loves meatballs. meatballs make you smile. >> we talk the talk now, we are in the kitchen need to walk the walk. >> a magic ratio. 2 pound of meat, any kind. chicken, pork. 2 eggs, 2 tea spoons of salt, and half a cup of bread crumbs. for this meatball we will go with classic italian seasoning, ground up fennel flake. put a pinch in there. good-sized pinch. i have some herbs. like to roughly chop them. put the stems in. saves you time and everything. and for the meatballs, the meatballs, we use ricotta cheese. everybody likes a supple ball. the cheese offers the supple

texture. >> any technique as you are massaging your meat? >> people say you don't want to squeeze tight firmly. i disagree. you want to gift a good mix. want to mix it efficiently. if your balls are too firm, it means that you, you, you don't have enough bread in the meatballs. you don't have enough ricotta cheese in the meatballs not because you squeezed them too tight. the problem if you don't squeeze them they break apart. >> no one wants broken balls. that is the worst. >> that is the worst. i look to loike to line them up. >> am in ret-- anal retentive at it. >> 24 minutes. 450 degrees. perfect. >> quick, boom. all right, so meatballs, cooked. out of the oven. smelling. looking good. your classic dish. the meatball sub. let's put the bad boy together. >> we have a rustic italian

baguette. a little olive oil. give it a good toast. next step is i am going to give a really healthy ladle of tomato. try not to make it spill over the side where it will get soggy on the bread. >> keep it neat. >> secret for me of a great sandwich is the very beginning to the end should have a little bit of everything. so what i do give a little crush to make sure the meatballs span the whole sandwich. >> you have it all made up. stick it in the toaster for not too, long, right, a minute or two, if that? >> 30 seconds. cut it right in half. good to go. >> that's the meatball hero. >> best part of the job right here. perfect, man. that's perfect. >> so happy. >> meatball hero, it is so happy. >> that's good stuff. thank you, man. toast it up. >> and, all sophomoric humor aside. these things are extremely good. the best part especially living here in new york, incredibly reasonable prices here.

these guys are doing well. started out with three stores. going up to five. look, one of my favorite assignments for the overnights. good old meatballs. like the guy said, they make you happy. go get some. good prices. >> you did a good job massaging the meat. >> hey, i appreciate that. ben working hard at that for years. perfected it. these guys are doing really well. good restaurant. and reasonably priced which is refreshing here in the big apple. what kind of balls do you have? >> there are nuts on these too? >> are there? >> wall nuts. honestly the producers give us pickles and meatballs back to back. >> they knew what to expect. this wasn't going to be. >> we are just going to apologize for humor. >> tomorrow, the eats continue. another place that has taken something simple and made it amazing. >> you are going to meet new york's guru of gourmet treats doing the most incredible things

with donuts. you have never seen donuts quite like this. so. pickles, we had the balls. and tomorrow we get the donut. it's all -- >> coming together. >> a wonderful, culinary and biological lesson the stay with us. you disgust me.

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♪ i'm watching for f ining i'm watching i'm watching american television ♪ ♪ i'm watching i'm watching i'm watching american television ♪ >> welcome back, everybody. wildlife shows around the country. i still have -- >> little bit. >> i can't help it. you know how i am with meatballs. wildlife shows around the country are incredibly popular and increasingly dangerous. we found one in which the trainers literally play and swim with tigers which is a lesson for me. i had no idea that tigers could swim. >> this is crazy. at arizona's out of africa tiger

splash, visitors are on the edge of their seat. animal experts are worried about consequences. abc's john muller has more. >> reporter: running at full speed, being chased by a full grown tiger. it may look like a movie for jeff it is any day, a carnivore handler for out of africa wildlife park. every afternoon for 30 minutes he performs in the tiger splash arena where he plays, roughhouses, and seemingly taunts the park's tigersen a swimming pool all in front of an audience. >> we are just playing having a good time. all i see is, is the tiger and her eyes how intense they are, what is she staring at. trying to figure out exactly when is she going to spring. >> reporter: critics say no matter how well trained harwell is performing alongside wild predators doesn't lead to a happy ending. >> eventually someone is going to get killed because they keep

doing this on a daily basis. it only takes one time for it to be a tragedy. >> reporter: a harsh reality visitors to exhibits promising up close animal encounters. >> oh, my god. >> have seen time and again. this lion at the mgm grand las vegas lashed out at trainers in front of stunned guests in 2010. and roadside animal attractions across america have seen numerous attacks like this oklahoma boy being pounced on by a tiger cub. all captured by undercover humane society cameras. >> good girl. >> reporter: for jeff, braving animals others see as dangerous is worth it. >> some times we get caught up in playing, we aren't performing, people aren't there, just my tiger and me. >> john muller, abc news, new york. >> wow, and luckily, thankfully no incidents, injuries have been reported, nothing since 1991.

>> wow. see -- speaking of things you will never, ever see in life.

this morning on "world news now" -- airline action. american airlines and its pilots' union agree to resume talks in their bitter labor standoff. meanwhile the mystery of loose seats on three american flights may have been solved. it's wednesday, october 3rd. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." good wednesday morning, everyone. i'm paula faris. >> and i'm rob nelson. there are new problems for american airlines with landing gear trouble forcing an emergency landing. we'll get to that coming up in just a second. man, they have the seats, now landing gear issues, having a

rough couple days. also ahead, video resurfaces of president obama as a candidate five years ago, talking about issues, and know white house has issued its response. this seems to be the election of the surprise video here. so now it is the president's turn. >> it is october. >> five weeks and counting. >> yep, then the anchorwoman who used her own newscast to respond to criticism about her weight. her on-air message has triggered a nationwide outpouring. later this half-hour, caught on tape. nicki minaj lets loose with a blue streak, cursing out mariah carey in a big "american idol" battle. we'll have it coming up later in "the skinny". we talked a few weeks ago how the two divas are not fans of each other. now, again, more video, surprise video, this morning, niki and mariah, claws out. >> good publicity and good press for the show. ratings will be up, you know that. >> we love each other in case you were wondering. first, american airlines in

something of a thaw in the frigid relations between the company and its pilots' union. >> they will be back at the table later this week. talks aimed at a new pilots' labor contract. the union rejected american's most recent offer back in august, but now union leaders say they will seek an industry standard contract. >> american is also dealing with plenty of flight problems. the latest came yesterday during a scheduled flight from dallas to st. louis. the plane was forced to turn become to dallas after ten minutes in the air. >> passengers were told to brace for a crash landing. thankfully never happened. they were put on another plane and ultimately arrived safely. >> that incident came as american got to the bottom of the problem with seats coming loose. abc's jim avila reports. >> reporter: boston's logan field, one of american's boeing 757s, 47 of which nearly the half the fleet taken out of service as the troubled airline tries to make sure no more of its coach seats come loose in flight,

as they have three separate times. >> our seats, 14 abc i think are totally disconnected. >> somehow in the installation process of our seats we introduced a failure. not sure mechanical failure or human failure. >> reporter: american saying it identified what caused three flights to be aborted in mid flight because seats came loose. in one case, flipping passengers on their backs. the seats came in rows of three. and the row is held to the floor with what is called a saddle clamp. it is that clamp that was improperly installed on the planes where the seats disengaged. >> on the safety side of this particular situation, american is doing all that it can do to ensure that the seats are -- are being looked at and making sure they're installed as correctly as they're supposed to be. >> reporter: american says the investigation is still under way, but so far, the airline cannot give a solid answer as to why now. these seats have been in use for up to 20 years, and never come loose before.

aviation sources say the last eyes and hands on the saddle clamps in all three loose seat incidents belong to company mechanics. leading to suspicions of possible sabotage. but safety experts tell abc news that would be a first. >> to deliberately think that somebody would do something to a seat track assembly to cause it to come loose during flight is just something that is not thought of in this industry. >> reporter: the mechanics' union which lost jobs to outsourcing said it had nothing to do with the loose seats and points to the new private maintenance. just the latest series of labor troubles for american airlines, which has suffered more than 2,200 delays in 75 cancellations on time only 57% of the time. american airlines says it is ruling out sabotage. they believe that the installation mistakes are the result of human or mechanical errors. jim avila, abc news, new york. with hours to go until the presidential debate, the obama campaign is being accused of being racially divisive.

at issue now, are previously unreported remarks made by then candidate obama to a largely african-american audience back in 2007. obama suggested the federal government overlooked new orleans' residents suffering in the wake of hurricane katrina. >> what is happening down in new orleans? where is your dollars? where is your money? it makes no sense! [ indiscernible ] tells me that somehow the people down in new orleans they don't care about as much. >> the founder of the conservative website that released the tape says those comments are evidence obama was "whipping up hatred and fear." meanwhile, the obama campaign release this statement. it says, in a transparent attempt to change the subject from his comments attacking half of the american people, mitt romney's allies recirculated

video of the 2007 event that was open to and extensively covered by the press at the time. >> and romney's camp responded to this saying they had absolutely no involvement, the communications director said i don't know what the news is. i didn't even really see a point as to why the video was released. again this video came out, this happened five years ago, it was previously unreported some of the remarks. because not all of the networks were there. and what was reported was just snippets and prepared remarks from obama's campaign. >> right. that's why it has kind of come out now. as any of you who watch the show. i lived in new orleans. lived there ten years. through hurricane katrina. and you know, just from, speak on the new orleans example for a second, obviously a lot of play. but one, the magnitude beyond race of what happened. 80% of the city under water, coupled with bad politics, between the mayor, governor, governor and president all that played a role i think in some of the

reprehensible scenes you saw after the storm to say it was simply racist is kind of, under estimating the extent of the problems we saw in '05. so, we'll see how this plays tonight. >> he said poor people need help with basic skills, how to shop, how to show up for work on time, how to wear the right clothes, how to act appropriately. and he also said -- we don't need to build highways, out in the suburbs. we should be investing in minority owned businesses in our neighborhoods. >> a lot of politicians pander to the crowd. >> the president's inflection and cadence was different in that video the way he was speaking was different talking to a largely black crowd. again, after that jeremiah wright situation, the big controversy of his campaign came out and gave a widely praised speech in philadelphia that called for racial reconciliation. he said, look, as a country we have not gotten the issue of race relations right and called for unity and distanced himself from jeremiah wright. officially. so it is complicated as always. >> highly sensitive. the hunt is on along the u.s./mexico border for those responsible for the death of an american border patrol agent.

30-year-old nicholas ivy was killed early yesterday in what is being described as an ambush. another agent was also wounded in the attack. what is unclear is whether ivy's death was the work of one of mexico's drug cartels. he was killed in an area that is notorious for drug trafficking. at least eight wildfires are burning in northwestern minnesota this morning. fueled by powerful wind and severe drought conditions. one fire is finally under control after destroying about a half dozen homes in the town of carlshead. it burned through 12 square miles and forced evacuation of half of the town including a school and a nursing home. here is your wednesday weather. more gusty wind from washington state to the minnesota fire zone. a wintry day in montana with up to 10 inches of mountain snow. snow? >> here we go. >> a foggy morning. commute in the northeast. showers, thunderstorms from the carolinas into florida. >> still great in miami. 90 degrees there. 80s in dallas and new orleans. 70s from minneapolis to new york.

50 in billings. still hot in phoenix. 101. well, more proof this morning that everything is bigger in texas. and this one is literally as big as it gets. >> it looks like the mother of all snacks. a ginormous -- a mix of cheddar, chili, and frito chips. cooked up at the state fair of texas. the folks at guinness, declaring the delicious concoction, the world's largest frito/chili pie. >> that pie weighed 1,300 pound and easily fed 5,000 people. the point of all this was to celebrate frito's birthday. 80th birthday. 635, 10-ounce bags of frito. 650, 16 ounce cans of chil. 580, 8-ounce bags of cheddar cheese. a little light, heart healthy snack for everybody. >> sound like my super bowl appetizers. >> sound good. coming up next, sexy centerfold model who wants you to know about her relationship with religion. >> a small town anchorwoman's

outrage over a viewer's comment about her weight. her public uproar over a private matter. it's all next on "world news now." ♪ people love it when you lose ♪ >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by lysol power and free. it's time to change the way we clean. it's time to free ourselves from the smell and harshness of bleach. and free ourselves from worrying about the ones we love. new lysol power & free has more cleaning power than bleach. how? the secret is the hydrogen peroxide formula. it attacks tough stains and kills 99.9% of germs. new lysol power & free. powerful cleaning that's family friendly. another step forward in our mission for health.

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♪ kick them when they're up ♪ kick them when they're down >> welcome back, everybody not -- now we turn to our -- boboom -- "favorite story of the day." this one is really interesting about an anchorwoman at wkbt, lacrosse, wisconsin who normally reports the news. like we do. >> jennifer livingston is the one making the headlines and spreading the message of confidence and empowerment far beyond wisconsin. it all started with a message from a viewer, who took aim at jennifer livingston's weight. writing "i was surprised indeed to witness that your physical condition has not improved for many years. surely you don't consider yourself a suitable example for this community's young people. girls in particular." on her own newscast, livingston, the mother of three young girls decided it was time to respond. >> so you know nothing about me other than what you see on the outside. and i am much more than a number on a scale. >> for more than four minutes

she faced the camera and the criticism. it has touched off a chorus of kindness. one person saying "that viewer could not have been more wrong. the message you are sending young women is that beauty and brains come in many forms." but livingston says the story isn't just about her. reminding viewers, that october is national anti-bullying month. >> to all of the children out there who feel lost, who are struggling with your weight, with the color of your skin, your sexual preference, your disability, even the acne on your face, listen to me right now. do not let your self-worth be defined by bullies. learn from my experience that the cruel words of one, are nothing compared to the shouts of many. >> those shouts summed up by the viewer who wrote, "all i can say is that you are a beautiful person all around, jennifer livingston. just the way you are." >> she is going to be on "gma" later this morning as well. it's interesting too.

on one point i see you have to address it. but we get so many negative e-mails as well. it's almost better sometimes to let those naive, ignorant comments go. because they come in waves. >> to acknowledge it, would give it power. you have to, she, that was a dignified message. >> yes, it was. >> especially with anti-bullying month here. and this month. in october for her to address it that way. was pretty powerful. hopefully that is an example young girls take from the situation not the comment but her response to it. it was classy. you and i both know, we take our hits up here. people, blessed with the anonymity of face book and twitter say all kind of horrible, nasty, horribly nasty incorrect things. we go, okay. resist the urge to go. let me tell you something. and you keep that cool. and, play nice. >> which is hard to do sometimes. >> yes, isn't it? >> i think some times we acquiesced to that immaturity. >> every now and then. some days, i don't hold it back.

i have written a few people back, let me tell you something. generally speaking good to play it cool. she did it classy. hats off to her. >> very dignified. coming up, two divas, and the bitterness between nicki minaj and mariah carey. this was not dignified. who was ushered off the stage in "dancing with the stars"? the backstage scoop coming up next in "the skinny". >> annou

♪ skinny so skinny ♪ skinny so skinny >> welcome back, everybody. time for "the skinny" here. we have been hearing all of the judges changes on "american idol" and said a few weeks ago there was maybe some bad blood between nicki minaj and mariah carey, now getting proof that maybe the rumors were true. tmz has this video here, apparently in doing auditions in charlotte, north carolina, had some kind of case agreement according to tmz about a contestant's performance. you see keith urban in the middle. randy jackson next to mariah. and nicki minaj is apparently going off on mariah carey, the audio is messed up, hear the bleeping and how intense things got. take a listen. >> [ bleep ], [ bleep ]. >> well, apparently, nicky said to mariah, i am going to knock

you out. i told them i am not putting up with your [ bleep ] highness over there. things got vulgar, intense, canceled auditions for the day. until things cooled off. they're worried the two may not make it for the long haul as co-judges on the show. whoo! >> actually what i heard there was an invitation to thanksgiving dinner. >> that's what you heard? >> that's what i heard. >> ever the optimist. >> got you caught up with "dancing with the stars," in the bottom yesterday, joey fatone, and race car driver helio castroneves. joey was booted. sadly, he was very entertaining for the five minutes. i watched. had a great time. people said it was fun. that's all that mattered. bristol palin was the low scorer. but because of all of the viewer votes that kept her out of the bottom two. so he is gone. next week, they will have creation control of their routines. it is going to get even more difficult. that's coming up next week. >> there we go. miles to go on "dwts."

>> also, in case you are wondering -- about to get jealous file, still the richest woman in hollywood even more than a year after her show went off the air, the one and only queen of media, oprah winfrey, between may 2011, and may 2012, she still raked in a cool $165 million. don't forget her show is over, of course she has the network, the magazine, the radio station on sirius satellite radio, also rounding out the list, britney spears $58 million from her to and taylor swift brought in $57 million as well. oprah still on top. doing her thing. also catching our eye, this particular photo of her, taping a movie called "the butler. "a new side of oprah. with terrence howard, this butler who worked in the white house for about, under, under eight american presidents. she is in the movie smoking a cigarette, kind of looking like a bad girl, doing her thing there. a sneak peek from the movie "the butler." >> liam neeson, "taken 2"

movie comes out this weekend, stripping down to the skivvies, on the "ellen" show, raised $20,000. ellen and a cancer survivor -- does he have skivvies on. yes, he does. good for him. raising $20,000. >> hey, liam, call oprah, baby.

you are watching "world news now." >> sleep is overrated. ♪ do the humpty-hump ♪ do the humpty-hump ♪ check it out y'all ♪ do the humpty-hump ♪ ♪ just watch me ♪ ♪ do the humpty-hump >> am i getting better? >> making progress. making a little progress. >> i went into the little -- >> sure that move works well in the club. >> yeah, whatever. >> the hump. i get it. >> i'll just shut up. she is a lot of things, jenny mccarthy, an actress, a former "playboy" centerfold, author. assume she can dance better than i can. >> jenny mccarthy has always been honest and candid about her life. now she has a new book out that

goes to a place she has never gone before. abc's juju chang has more. >> let's get him. >> reporter: she is a mom, an actress and host of reality show "love in the wild." >> let's get this adventure started. >> reporter: don't let jenny mccarthy's bombshell looks fool you, the former pin-up has written six "the new york times" best-selle best-sellers. her latest, a funny look back at the naughty school girl who launched her career as playmate of the year at 22. now at 39 she posed again this past august, proving she's still got it. this is the church you went to every sunday with your family? >> this is the church i went to twice a week. >> reporter: she chronicles her devout catholic upbringing in bad habit, confessions of a recovering catholic. >> that is my bedroom window. >> reporter: she grew up poor with three sisters in a polish neighborhood on chicago's south side. we returned to the house she grew up in. her initials still carved in cement in the backyard. >> i see one right there. >> reporter: l. >> there is jenny! felt like raiders of the lost

ark. >> it did! that was an archaeological dig. >> reporter: walking up to the attic of her old bedroom she recalls dreams of becoming a nun. >> used to have a jesus poster. the pope was over there. flaming heart of jesus was over there. then i had some, i love jesus t-shirts and bags hanging up. >> reporter: truly jesus was your bieber. >> jesus was my bieber. >> reporter: she also had dreams of hollywood where she built a career for two decade only to return home recently to her hometown to raise her son. >> i love you. >> reporter: juju chang, abc news, chicago. >> a great place to raise a family. >> your neck of the woods. she still looks great. see the difference in the "playboy" covers almost 20 years later. >> you would know. been with her through it all. >> that's right. hang tight. hang tight with my girl, jenny. >> kanye, rather, kim is going to get jealous. >> she doesn't watch the show. she's out right now. >> out where?

>> your guess is as the good as mine. [ laughter ] >> announcer: this is abc's "world news now," informing